Marcio Novelli’s Never-Ending Evolution of Music

Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario hails family man Marcio Novelli. With the diverse range of talents he possesses, he brings us a recreation of his first full-length studio album It’s Not an Excuse, It’s a Reason. This new release of older material is entitled The Reimagining, Vol. 1, and can be described as stripped down versions of the original songs. Or in the eyes of the creator, reimagined versions.

Novelli explained to us, “There should never be only one definitive version of a song, at least not for me. I think music should be ever-evolving and the same song can exist in many different forms. I discovered that I really love being able to present my songs in at least two different forms.” As a proud Pisces (a symbol of two fish swimming in opposite directions), this makes a lot of sense for him.

You can listen to both versions of each song here:

Along with his re-release, Marcio is giving us a brand new music video for his song “Better (Reimagined)” that was directed and produced solely by himself. He shares with us his triumphs and struggles to create a final product:

“[It] is the first and only song from this EP to feature a completely original video. I’m glad to finally share it with everyone because I’ve been sitting on it for over a year now and most of the footage was shot two years ago. Speaking of which, the camera op I hired for the main shoot accidentally deleted an entire memory card with 90% of the footage we shot. This left me with the insane task of making use of very minimal footage and turning it into a presentable behind-the-scenes video. I had to shoot a few inserts and utilize some self-shot footage but, with a lot of work and finesse, I think it really came together.”

As Novelli works on his second full-length record, he hopes that his fans can find satisfaction in his absence with his first volume of Reimagining; and he promises a second volume to follow his next album.

Below, you can read the rest of our exclusive interview with the man himself.

How did you get into music? Was there a specific moment when you knew this was what you wanted to do?My earliest memories before the age of five include listening to music and singing along to my favourite songs. By age seven, I had already written my first poem and before my tenth birthday I was coming up with song ideas. I knew by then that I wanted to make music and that sentiment was solidified when I was around thirteen years old and wrote literally hundreds of songs in my eighth year of elementary school. It was a means of therapy for me to deal with the traumatic things going on in my life at the time.

What has been your favorite aspect of your career so far?I love everything about the creative process from writing songs to bringing them to life in the studio to performing them on stage. Each of the three major stages are gratifying on different levels and for different reasons.

What’s the most challenging thing about your career? What’s been the most rewarding?The fact that I’ve been truly independent for all these years has been both challenging and rewarding all at once but it has definitely posed more challenges than rewards by far. I spend the vast majority of my time doing all the behind-the-scenes work that is aggravating and stressful so I can make music. I’m very much looking forward to the day that I can just be the artist with an extremely small focus on the administrative side of things.

What prompted you to recreate your original album It’s Not an Excuse, It’s a Reason?It’s been over five years since I entered the studio to record It’s Not an Excuse, It’s a Reason. Since then, I’ve become a father twice and experienced a series of setbacks that have regrettably prevented me from focusing entirely on my music. The idea to record an acoustic EP that reimagines my previously released material spanning my three solo releases came to me not long after my first son was born in 2012. I had been performing my songs solo acoustically live and I knew I wanted to focus my energies on being a dad so I figured this would be a project that allowed me to be creative while representing the core of the songs and characteristics of my solo shows. This is one of the reasons I opted to produce the EP myself, without a co-producer like my last two releases, in order to capture the vibe that only I knew how to. I chose to reimagine songs from my catalog that were previously only available as full band arrangements. This EP also allowed me to share a new release with my following while I finish my upcoming second full-length album.

Which song from The Reimagining, Vol 1. are you most proud of?I’m really happy with how the EP turned out as a whole but I’d have to say that the reimagined version of Doctor, Please really stands out to me as something special. I wasn’t happy with it for a long time until, just before wrapping up the EP, I came up with the new piano part that really sets the new version apart from the original allowing it to stand on its own rather than just being an acoustic version of the song. There’s a reason I didn’t just call this EP “Acoustic Versions” because these recordings are so much more than that. I wanted to strip the songs down to how I had originally wrote them then dress them up in just enough sonic clothing to make them look different yet still familiar like an old friend you haven’t seen in years who is still the same in a lot of ways but has matured with time.

Do you have any favorite lyrics from your newest EP?With a few minor exceptions, there really aren’t any new lyrics on this EP but I can name a few that I really enjoy. The lyric that has resonated most with people is “Perfection is a flaw”. Most of the people who have tattoos of my lyrics have opted to permanently ink their skin with those words. As a whole, I really love Doctor, Please because of its honesty and ability to relate to my situation again and again. As a concept, Siren Song is really fun because I strongly allude to Homer’s The Iliad to help paint what I was experiencing in my life at the time.

I understand that you’re very hands-on when it comes to your material and art. Have you faced any struggles when filming or editing your videos/music?I usually bring in a co-director to work with me on set for my music videos, particularly for the scenes I’m acting or performing in. The only struggle I’ve faced is the push back from other filmmakers not being used to sharing the creative control and direction on set. I’m very comfortable collaborating but, at the end of the day, it’s my video and it’s going to be the way I want it to be.

What have you learned from it?I’ve learned the importance of making it very clear in advance what I’m looking for from anyone I bring onto my video projects so that there are no surprises.

Would you continue co-directing in the future?I would prefer to direct but I will also be happy to co-direct with talented filmmakers who share my vision and help me bring it to life on film while being able to leave their ego at the door.

Do you have any long term goals? Would you ever like to do a full tour?Oh god, yes. It’s so much more complicated than it seems, especially when I have a wife and two kids at home that I’d be leaving behind. I balance my time between being a full-time father and artist so there are several specifics that need to be addressed in order to make a tour possible. I’m working on it though.

Which artists inspire you the most?It really depends on the day but, over time, the people who have inspired me the most as artists are Jared Leto, Marilyn Manson, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Brandon Boyd.

Who inspires you to pursue your passions?My kids, more than anything, inspire me on a daily basis to be a better person and work even harder than I already do. I used to do this solely for myself then, as people took notice, I did it for them as well. Now, my kids have worked their way into the reasons I’m still doing this crazy thing in one of the most unforgiving industries in the world.

How do you deal with criticism?I used to not be able to handle criticism at all but, at this point, I take everything with a grain of salt, both good and bad. I’d be lying if I said that there aren’t times I obsess over something someone has said to me, particularly if it’s negative, but, I’m much better at letting things roll off my back than ever before. I think that our ability to handle criticism as artists and people in general is directly proportionate to our level of confidence and sensitivity to the particular aspect of ourselves or our work that is being criticized. After making music for the better half of my life, I really just can’t find the time to dwell on anything other than my life as a dad and songwriter.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received that you’d want to pass on to other up and coming artists?Focus on your fans, not labels and other industry people.

Do you have a favorite tv show?The way my wife and I wind down at the end of the day when the kids are asleep is usually to watch some shows we love. We really enjoy well crafted series that play out like a long movie. One of our all-time favourites is Shameless which is such a fantastic show. There are too many to name though. A personal favourite of mine is Archer. It’s seriously so good. I’ve always loved animation and that has not changed in my adulthood.

Which character from that show do you identify with most?From Shameless, I’d say I relate to Lip the most. He’s smarter and more capable than his situation would suggest and he’s constantly self-sabotaging himself and holding himself back without being consciously aware of it. I know I’ve definitely done that more times in my life than I’d like to admit.

Who are your top five favorite bands?I’m into so many different artists so I’ll just name the five that have stuck with me the longest: Incubus, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Tegan and Sara, AFI, The Used.

What is an instrument you’d love to play?I’d love to work on my drum skills and better my ability as a guitar and piano player in general. It’s really just a matter of time. There’s never been enough to go around but, once you become a parent, that time is cut down to a bare minimum so you need to use any free time wisely. In fact, there is no free time, you’ve got to set aside time to do what needs to be done and use that time wisely. Right now, that extremely limited time is being dedicated to somehow finding a way to finish my new album. I’m nearly five years into this dad thing and I’m still figuring out how to manage my time to simultaneously be the best father and artist I can be.And finally, one question I always ask: waffles or pancakes?Although I have pancakes once a week, I’d have to say that I probably enjoy waffles more and I used to eat a ton of them when I was a kid.

One thought on “Marcio Novelli’s Never-Ending Evolution of Music”

Marcio, if you keep doing what you love to do,& it brings a smile to your face, you have accomplished your life’s Journey 🙂 Music is the BEST reward in life… keep up the AWESOME work.. “set backs are just what set you apart”